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Then, before the cruise missiles should have been transported to the aircraft, the munitions control center failed to
assess a database, as required, that would have alerted them that one of the pylons was not properly prepared for
transfer, Newton said.
Due to the first four mistakes, the nuclear warheads were unknowingly towed out to the flight line at 9:44 a.m. on
Aug. 29 without any of the increased security initiatives used when nuclear warheads leave a storage facility.
The warheads were loaded onto the B-52 and sat on the flight line, which officials said was secure.
Airmen did have one last chance to catch their mistake before the B-52 took off, but the Barksdale-assigned B-52
instructor radar navigator neglected to check all missiles loaded for transport as required, Newton said. The
instructor radar navigator performed only a spot check and only on the right pylon, the one that had been properly
prepared for transport. This marked the fifth and final error, according to the Air Force investigation.
At 8:40 a.m. on Aug. 30, the B-52 took off on its 1,100-mile flight to Louisiana, landing there at 11:23 a.m. It sat on
the flight line with the nuclear warheads still on its left wing for more than eight hours before munitions personnel,
who followed correct procedures, unloaded the weapons and discovered the enormous mistake.
Despite the severity of the problems discovered, Air Force officials continue to reassure the public that the nuclear
weapons were never out of airmens hands, but they acknowledged that the standard security procedures for handling
nuclear weapons did not occur.
The investigation found this to be an isolated incident, and corrective measures are being taken to ensure it doesnt
happen again.
This was an unacceptable mistake and a clear deviation from our exacting standards, said Secretary of the Air Force
Michael Wynne, who led off the press briefing. We hold ourselves accountable to the American people and want to
ensure proper corrective action is taken.